Method of and apparatus for making building tiles



o. SCHNURER 1,921,100

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BUILDING TILES Aug. 8, 1933.

Filed Sept. 8, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 0461 5M Aug. 8, 1933.1,921,100

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BUILDING TILES o. SCHNURER FiledSept. 8, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 0. SCHNURER Aug. 8, 1933.

METHOD OF AND'APPARATUS FOR MAKING BUILDING TILES Filed Sept. 8; 19:51

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 H H I III .II lilillllulllllll I.

INVENTOR "3:611 u Will/4 O. SCHNURER Aug. 8, 1933.

METHOD or AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BUILDING TILES Filed Sept. 8, 1931 4Sheets-Sheet 4 w I I I I I I l I I l Ill- |l|| INVENTOR %e SCAM MAW?Patented Aug. 8, 1933 I I 1 UNITED STATES PATENT oFF-rcE 1,921,106METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BUILDING TILES Octave Schnurer,Pittsburgh, Pa. Application September 3, 1931; Serial N6. 561,624

4 Claims. (01. 25-42) .My invention relates to the manufacture of of rikmasenry is obtained at minimum cost. siding tiles and like articles ofmanufacture Appa tus p n t e a u actu ed which are shaped from green.concrete, clay, or the tiles comprises a frame 10, a table 5 (Cf. Fig.other suitable substance. Tilesof the type with a d a pressing adfi.Between the table 5 which I am chiefly concerned comprise slabs d ead isa grid '7; t grid isprovided With that are adapted to be secured to theouter walls matrices 01' windows 8, corresponding in size and of abuilding; the slabs are provided with surelati n to h rnamen i n r fiereswhich face ornamentations, such that, when a building e ties are to id a h d 6 is p has been dressed with a veneer of the-tiles, it videdwithpr in blooks 6 r p ndin in 10 will appear as a building of brick, or ofstone reiation to the windows in the. grid. The table clocks, or ofother construction, according as the 5 is a p t0 receive a platen 9. Acompression faces of the tiles applied thereto have been orna sp i 6 isi p sed between a frame memberfil mented. More specifically, theinvention is diand the table 5; this sp tendstothrust the rooted tomethodof and apparatus for the manutable upward, but the ,actionisregulated by a facture of such tiles. cam 11. An arm 18, pivotallysupported at 14,- 70

In the accompanying drawings Fig. I is a View, is provided with a, camrider 12 at its one end, partly in side elevation and partly in verticalwhile at its other end it engages th tablet with section, showingapparatus in accordance with the a slot-and-D Connection e Cam 11 issoinvention. Fig. II' is a view of the same,'inp1a'n designed that thetable .5 is released, at the from above. Figs. III, IV, and V are viewsof the moment, desired, vto move. upward under the 75 tile-formingportions of the apparatus,.to larger forces f spring 50 and to m v the pn to scale, and comparable with Fig. I. The last- Et position againstthe bOttOm O the id '7 (See named figures illustrate progressive stepsin. the D, i 1 manufacture of tile. And Fig. VI is a frag- The Dressingd 6 is Vertially ovable rela- "mentary view, showing in cross section,and to tively t0 the /7; means for e ectin vertical 80 stilllargerscale, a the of thetype which my apmove t of t e head co prise an arm.15, which paratus is particularly adapted to make, arm is pivoted tothe frame 10 at .16, and is se- The tile with which I. am particularlyconcured at its one end to the head 6, and at its other cerned; andwhich for purposes of illustrating the end is q pp With a roller 1 whichrides a cam invention I shall herein describe, is formed of a 8.lvianifestly,'revolution 0f cam 18 will effect 5 water-proofcementitious composition, The' the downward .inovementof the head. 6from the tile'is of such design as, when applied to a buildposition in Wi it is shown in -I p ing, to present the pleasing appearance of brickis organized to resist downward movement Of masonry as is'indicatedfr'agmentarily in secthe h ad, and, When Permitted y the revolving35'tion-in Fig. VI, such tile comprises a metallic recam 18, the spring160 is adapted to raise the f m; h t 1 upon hi hth e i oldedv head fromits lowered position. The movement and hardened a plurality of blocks 2.The 0f the table 5v and head 6,. due to the springs blocks 2 aredisposed at intervals from one an-. 50, 69, arms 13, d evoivingcams'll,18, other, leaving open spaces 3; these spaces 3 afford will manifestlybe one. of -reciprocation toward 40 clearance for the passage of nailswhereby the and away from each other. The rotary cams 11 tile may benailed immediately upon the wall to and l8are interconnected by gearing19 (Fig. I) be veneered. That is to say, the nails are inaccordingly,they will move in synchronism when sorted in spaces 3 and driven throughthe metaldriven by motor 20. Presently, I shalldescribe licreinforcement 1 and into the wall or other the manner in which the grid7, the table 5, and. it

45*supporting structure which is to be veneeredf the'head 6v operate toeffect the molding of green The wall is completely covered with aveneerof material into a tile. such tiles; the tiles are matched'or ofcompl e, A pair, of endlesschains 23 is trained over mentary form,sothat, when the spaces 3 are rollers 21, 22; any convenient means.known to partly or wholly filled with mortar, as indeed theengineer(connection may be. madeftomotor 50 they are filled, the facing of tilesappears as a 20) may be employed to move the chainsstep-bybrick, or astone block wal1,'depending uponthe step, ,so that. in their upperreaches the chainssize, shape, and color of theblocks 2 andfof the willtravel from right to left (Fig. I)- The chains fillings placed inspaces;3.; Convenientlygfthe 23 are, adapted to carry.,platens .9, andtheirspaces 3 arefilled to the depth indicated by'thev motion is such that .aplaten 9, when positioned 55 dotted lines 4. Thus the utility andappearance on the chains at station A, will be shifted at the of onetile T.

cylinder.

proper time to a position immediately overlying table 5. Thesynchronisrn of the parts is so determined'that' when the platen 9 hasreached its said position over the table 5, the table will (by operationof the compression spring 50 and the linkage 11, 12, 13, 14) rise andlift the platen from the chains to a position against the nether face ofgrid 7. It should be understood that a suitable sheet of metal lath orreenforcement 1 is placed on the platen, desirably but not essentially,before the platen is shifted to a position overlying the table 5,whereby, when the table 5 rises, the metallic reenforcement will bebrought to position against the grid. In this position of the parts, theplaten provides in efiect a floor for the windows of grid 7; that is,the windows in effect provide a plurality of matrices in which greenmaterial may be pressed to desired form, and bonded to thereenforcement 1. Accordingly, when the platen 9 has been brought toposition against the nether face of the grid, means are cuased to supplya charge of green material to the grid.

Advantageously, amass of ready mixed cementitious material is stored ina hopper 24; a feeder is associated with the hopper; the feedercomprises a revoluble cylinder 25 having a pocket 26 inset in itscylindrical face. Normally the cylinder is positioned as shown in Fig.I, i. e. with its pocket in registry with bottom opening of the hopper24. Manifestly, the pocket will be filled with the material contained inthe hopper. The capacity of the pocket is so determined that it containssuflicient material for the formation When, therefore, the platen andgrid are ready for a charge of tile-forming material, the cylinder 25 isrotated through one complete, counter-clockwise revolution, and, asindicated in Fig. III, during such revolution the contents of pocket 26are emptied upon a receiving plate or surface 27. It will be perceivedthat the curved face of the cylinder 25 serves as a closure for thebottom opening of the hopper 24' during such material-feeding movementof the The material deposited upon plate 27 is swept into place in thegrid structure, ready for the head 6 to lower and press the tile toform.

I provide a pair of endless chains 28, trained over rollers 29 and 30;these chains carry wiper vanes 31, as the means for sweeping the chargeof material, which is deposited on plate 27, into the grid for pressing.Fig. III indicates the action.

, When the group of vanes 31 as advanced in its right-to-left. movementbeyond the grid 7, the windows of the grid will be provided with anevenly-distributed charge of green material,

ready to be pressed. At this time the cam 18 will have reached suchposition in its rotation as to swing the arm 15 counter-clockwiseeffecting a lowering of the head 6. Accordingly, the material within thegrid is compressed to the form of the windows, and is forced into aso-called 'ibonding engagement with the metal lath 1.

from the machine.

of the spring 50. That is to say, the cam 11 and arm 13 now becomeeffective to lower the table 5 against the resistance of spring 50, sothat the pressing head 6 and table 5 move in concert. Of course, it isnecessary to free the pressed tile from the grid, and in so doing theedges and corners of the blocks 2 desirably should be sharplymaintained.

It will be perceived that the pressing blocks 6a are of greater depththan the windows of the grid '7. Accordingly, the pressing blocks maycontact and support the top faces 2a of the pressed tile, until the tilehas been cleared of the grid; that is, the'blocks 6a are adapted tofollow and to support the tile until it is clear of the grid. Due to theco-operation and synchronism of the cams 11, 18, it will be understoodthat, once the material within the windows of the grid have beencompressed and formed, there is little or no pressure exerted on theformed tile T while it is being lowered from and cleared of the grid 7.The bottom faces of the pressing blocks 6a support the top faces of thepressed blocks 2, until the blocks 2 are freed from the grid. The table5 continues to lower (of. Fig. V) under the instrumentality of linkage11, 12, 13, and ultimately lowers to the position in which it is shownin Fig. I, whereupon the chains 23 engage the platen 9, bearing theformed tile T. The platen and tile T are, by means of chains 23, shiftedto the left of frame 10 (Fig. I), where they are accessible for removalIn the case of concrete tiles, the removed platens and their burden arestored in steam rooms, or in drying rooms, where the tiles arehardenedand prepared for service. If the material of which the tiles areformed be clay, then the platens removed from station B will be placedin a firing kiln for such heat treatment.

So the method is conducted; so the apparatus will continuously operate;and so advantages of the nature indicated are obtained as is expedient.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of forming siding structure and the like which comprisesthe steps of supporting a metallic reinforcement upon a platen against;

the bottom of a windowed grid, compressing the material of which thesiding structure is to be formed within the windows of such grid, andforcing such material into bonding engagement with the metallicreinforcement upon said platen, then lowering the platen away from thegrid, while freeing the pressed material from such grid and supportingthe top faces of the compressed material, whereby a plurality of blocksare shaped and bonded to the reinforcement in spaced relation andpredetermined pattern.

2. The method of forming siding structure and the like which comprisesthe steps of supporting a metallic reinforcement upon a platen againstthe bottom of a windowed grid, powerfully compressing thematerial ofwhich the siding structure is to be formed within the windows of saidgrid, and forcing such material into bonding engagement with themetallic reinforcement upon said platen, then shifting the platenrelatively to the grid and freeing the pressed material therefrom, andleaving bonded upon said reinforcement a plurality of blocks in spacedrelation and predetermined pattern.

3. The method of forming siding structure and the like which comprisesthe steps of supporting a metallic reinforcement upon a platen againstthe bottom of a windowed grid, powerfully compressing the material ofwhich the siding structure is to be formed within the windows of saidgrid, and forcing such material into bonding engagement with themetallic reinforcement upon said platen, then shifting the platenrelatively to the grid, while freeing the pressed material from saidgrid and supporting the top faces of the compressed material, whereby aplurality of blocks are shaped and bonded to the reinforcement in spacedrelation and predetermined pate tern. V

4. A machine for the manufacture of veneering, which machine comprisesthe combination of a grid having a plurality of windows in which greenmaterial may be pressed to shape, means for supporting an expanse ofmetallic reinforcement against the nether face of said grid, whereby thewindows of said grid become matrices adjacent whose bottom surfacesareas of metallic reinforcement are presented, a receiving surface,means for discharging measured quantities of green material upon saidsurface, means for sweeping the measured material from said surface anddistributing it in said matrices and upon the areas of metallicreinforcement presented therein, and a pressing head provided with aplurality of pressing blocks for co-operation with said matrices, andmeans for operating said pressing head, to compress the material in saidmatrices into bonding engagement with the presented areas of saidmetallic reinforcement.

OCTAVE SCHNURER.

